Being the Messenger is Harder Than You'd Think
by WHOAitsryn
Summary: AU Alternate Universe . After the Equalists attack, Korra, Bolin, Mako and Asami go into hiding. They send Ayano to Konoha to gather help in the form of the local shinobi. The city they return to is a city in the midst of war. Kiba/OC
1. Chapter 1

Hey readers! Welcome to my first story, and thanks for clicking on that link. I'm trying my best here to work fanfiction, so excuse any mistakes or anything confusing. If you notice I missed something while "editing" a chapter, please tell me in a review and I'll try to fix it. Thank you!

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**Ayano**

Being the messenger is harder than you'd think.

I hadn't slept more than an hour in two days, and I hadn't had a lot of time to stop and rest, or eat. I left a warring city to come to a peaceful town, and it seemed that every cozy home I passed with a light on in the kitchen rubbed my face in it. I hurried through the dark streets, trying to keep Scout as dry as possible, ducking my head beneath my hood in the pouring rain. I guess if I was watching where I was going, I wouldn't have run in to anyone, but you wouldn't think someone would be on a pleasant evening stroll in the pouring rain at ten at night.

The man turned to me and mumbled a quick apology through his fur-trimmed hood, and I noticed a small dog in his arms. I hugged Scout tighter to me and mumbled, "sorry," back as quick as I could. He turned to leave, but before he could get out of ear shot, I yelled out to him. "Hey!" I shouted.

He stopped and turned, but I could see that he wanted me to get on with it. I yelled over the rain, "Do you know the way to the Hokage's tower?"

His shoulders dropped. "It's on the other side of town."

I sighed. "Okay, thanks," I said, and turned to start towards it.

There was a pause as I rushed towards a small cover, and took a few seconds to rest, and dry Scout off. "Hey! Wait a second," the kid was jogging towards me, and he stopped under the cover with me. He pulled his hood a little away from his face. "Let me take you to the tower, it'll suck to look for it in this rain," he offered.

I glanced down at Scout, my a-little-bigger-than-a-puppy puppy, and back at the man in front of me. "Sure," I said.

He led me across the relatively small town to the pale tower with a light shining in a room on the uppermost floor. Under the covered entrance, I looked at the dark-haired kid I'd followed here. "Thanks, uh..," I started.

He glanced at me. "Kiba," he supplied.

"Thanks, Kiba."

"No problem..,"

"Ayano."

"Ayano."

I didn't know what to do, so there were a few seconds where Kiba and I just awkwardly stood there, a bit close for comfort because we were both trying to avoid getting any wetter than we already were. "You know," Kiba started, "She doesn't really like dogs in her place." He nodded to Scout, who had either fallen asleep in my arms or was trying to become one with my sweatshirt.

"Oh, um..," I looked around for a safe place to hide him.

"I could watch him," Kiba volunteered, almost eagerly.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I love dogs," he smiled.

I gave him a long look. If there was one thing I loved more than Republic City, the reason I was in Konoha, it was Scout. "I could wait outside her office door," he offered, obviously sensing my hesitation.

I hesitated one more time, and then tipped the sleeping dog into his arms. Kiba took Scout with a care akin to holding his own child, and I couldn't help but smile. "Her office is upstairs," he said, nodding his head towards the building. "Come on."

He led me through the front door, and we made the trek up the stairs to her office. Kiba knocked twice on her door, and a few seconds later, she opened the door wide and stood tall staring us down. She looked tired, like she was carrying a city on her shoulders. "Inuzuka," she greet him with a nod, and he nodded back. I found myself amazed that she could successfully run Konoha and still know individual citizens. "What can I do for you?" she asked.

I stepped up. "Tsunade," I said, searching her face for recognition and finding it immediately.

"Ayano," she spoke. "It's been a while."

"Can we talk?"

Tsunade nodded and stepped aside for me to enter her office. I glanced back at Kiba holding Scout before following Tsunade back to her desk.

Tsunade went to take her seat behind her desk and collected some papers together. "What can I help you with, Ayano?"

"Republic City is under attack."

**Kiba**

Tsunade left the door ajar, so it was easy for me to hear the hushed yet hurried conversation of the girl whose dog I'd offered to watch, Ayano, and my town's Hokage, Tsunade.

"Republic city is under attack," Ayano said. There was a pause after that. I thought back to my early school days where all I really remember doing was absent mindedly petting Akamaru while staring out the window, longing to simply hop out of it and play amongst the trees. I don't remember hearing anything about any place called Republic City.

The shock showed obviously in Tsunade's voice when she spoke. "When?"

"Just three days ago. Lin sent me here before she left with Avatar Korra and her friends to stop some incoming ships run by the Equalists. Last I heard, they were waiting for a fleet of ships to assist them via General Iroh."

My mind raced to consider all the information she had just dumped onto Tsunade's desk – the attack, she was sent, she somehow came from a city I'd never heard of in three days, and did I hear her say something about the Avatar?

Konoha was one of the small towns that didn't really get affected when Avatar Aang was discovered. Short of working conditions improving and our freedom earned, nothing had really changed, or so I read in history books. There were a number of towns and cities Aang had passed through on his journey – Konoha was simply not one of them. So what was this mysterious Ayano doing here, of all places?

"What did Lin think Konoha could do?" Tsunade asked, voicing my thoughts almost exactly.

"I was hoping you might know that," Ayano muttered.

A pause, and I heard more papers being shuffled.

"Please, " Ayano said, and I heard the squeak of a chair and assumed she had leaned forward. "You can't just give up on us. Republic City needs your help."

"Ayano, we don't have an army, we don't have war weapons. We don't have the means to help you."

"Lin's bending was taken from her."

Bending. I stared down at my hands, remembering the envy I had felt when we learned about bending in school. To be able to move earth or water with just my hands sounded so cool.

"Lin's bending was taken away? How is that possible?"

"The Equalists have a leader named Amon, who's figured out how to take people's bending away. No one knows how. He says he's.. Cleansing people of their impurities."

I stared at the floor and shook my head.

"Is there any way you can help us?"

There was a pause. A long pause. A pregnant pause, even. This lady must have been three months late.

"..We can pull something together."

**Ayano**

Tsunade led me out of her office after our talk, and I was glad she did. Any more talking of Lin or Tenzin or Korra or the invasion would have reduced me to tears. Once I stepped out of the office, I almost fell against Scout, seeking a comfort I didn't have here, and one that was going to be difficult to find at home. Kiba handed Scout, who had woken up while I was in the office, to me, and I let him hop onto the floor and kept him close.

"You should stay here while I gather up our forces. Get some rest," she handed me a piece of folded paper that was clipped together with a small paper clip. "Stay at the hotel around the corner. Give them that note, you should be able to stay for free with it. Inuzuka," she addressed Kiba, who looked up from the floor. "Take her there."

He nodded once and started down the hallway he'd led me through, his small dog hopping out of his jacket and trotting beside him. I glanced up at Tsunade and tried for a smile. "Thank you, Tsunade," I said.

The Hokage nodded, but said nothing. I turned and followed Kiba outside, trotting a little to catch up with him and his small dog. Once at the top of the stairs, I glanced out the window that at opposite the flight of stairs. "It stopped raining," I said, glancing at Kiba.

He glanced up out the window and nodded once. "Yeah," he answered.

"I'm sure I can find my way to the hotel," I said once we left the tower and ventured into the misty night.

"It's fine, I can take you there," Kiba said, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

I watched the ground as I walked behind him for a few minutes, focusing on keeping Scout from wandering and thinking about Tsunade's general mood when we had talked. For some reason, I thought she would jump at the chance to help Republic City.

"So," Kiba piped up suddenly, and I looked up to see if we were at the hotel. We weren't.

"Yeah?" I answered.

"Where's Republic City?"

I smirked to myself. "So you were listening," I said, kicking a pebble into a small puddle on the street.

"Well I was standing right outside the doorway, like I promised," he said with a joking twang in his voice.

I chuckled a little. "It's in the shores of Yue Bay, in the Earth Kingdom," I answered. "It was founded by Avatar Aang and Firelord Zuko almost right after the Hundred Year War ended."

"So why have I never heard of it?"

"Do you pay attention in school?"

He paused. "Not really."

I smiled. I felt like I hadn't laughed in a really long time.

We took a turn and Kiba stopped at the door of a small, warmly lit building. "We're here," he said, pulling his hood down and looking at me.

I dug around for the note Tsunade had given me. "Thanks," I said. "Sorry I pulled you out in the middle of a rain storm."

He shrugged. "Don't worry about it."

I smiled and clicked at Scout, who ran for the door. I turned to Kiba before following him. "It was.. Really nice to meet you," I said.

He smiled and threw me a wave. "It was really nice to meet you too," And he took off down the street, his dog trotting alongside him.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey readers! Welcome to chapter two, and thanks for putting up with me for two chapters! Enjoy~

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**Kiba**

I woke up the next morning to Akamaru yipping in my ear, and a knock on my door. I smoothed my hand across my dog's head and pressed down behind his ear, successfully silencing him. "I'm up, Akamaru, calm down," I grumbled, pulling a shirt from off my floor over my head so I could look at least a tiny bit decent when I went to answer the door.

A glance through the peephole in my door brought on a wave of disdain, and a small groan. Sakura Haruno, Tsuande's long-time assistant stood on the other side of my doorway. I thought back to our break up, and how messily it had ended, and opened the door without thinking of my state of undress.

"Hey, Sakura," I said, running a hand through my hair.

She took one too-long glance at my chosen pajamas – boxers and that shirt I had scuffed off the floor - and looked up at me, seeming to tighten herself up a little more (if possible). "Kiba," she said with a stiff nod. "Tsunade sent a message for you."

I rubbed my eye with my hand, trying to wake up a little more. "Yeah? What is it?"

Sakura handed over a piece of Tsunade's stationary paper folded once. I swiped a tired hand at it. "Thanks, Sakura," I said.

She turned to leave. "Just doing my job," she began to march away with the air of a soldier, before turning back to look at me. "Nice seeing you again."

I threw her one last smile before shutting the door. Akamaru met my eyes and tilted his head to the left. "Well, that was awkward," I said to him, unfolding the letter. He barked in agreement. I knelt down to rub behind his ears and plopped down on the floor, leaning against the wall, unfolding Tsunade's note.

_Kiba – Report to the Hokage's tower with Ayano at 11:00 a.m. Get here safetly._

I checked the clock on the wall. 10:26. With a grunt, I peeled myself off the front hallway floor and went to get myself ready for the day. "C'mon Akamaru, we have to go see Ayano again," I said.

Akamaru yipped at me as I turned the corner into my bedroom. "Yeah, I thought she was pretty, too," I mumbled to him.

I barely got ready – I pulled a white shirt that didn't smell too dirty over my head, and hopped quickly into some pants. After I had my shoes on, Akamaru and I headed out, down the road towards the hotel Ayano was staying at.

It was somewhere around 15 minutes later when I arrived at Ayano's hotel. When I knocked on her door, she answered wearing – I'm pretty sure – the same outfit as last night. She perked up a little when she saw me, probably to see a somewhat familiar face besides Tsunade's – she could be a bit.. Intimidating at times. "Hey, Kiba," she said.

"Hey, Ayano. I'm surprised you're up," I said.

She shrugged. "I don't sleep much. Uh, would you like to come in? I'm not sure, but I think there's bottled water or something in the fridge..," she ushered me in, moving towards the kitchen.

"No, it's fine," I said, stepping inside. "I was sent to grab you for a meeting with Tsunade at eleven, actually."

She poked her head out of the fridge. "Oh, let's go then," I almost had to skip to keep up with her.

**Anna**

I raced up the stairs to Tsunade's office and was knocking on the door before Kiba had even made it to the top step. "What can you do?" I asked once she opened the door.

She held her hand up. "Calm down. Come inside. Where's Kiba?" I looked towards the stairs and saw him leaning against the wall. "Kiba, you too," Tsunade told him. He and I entered the office and found two older men, one with gray hair and a mask covering half his face, the other with dark brown hair pulled into a ponytail and a scar across his nose, and a woman with untamed black hair, and a body wrap that covered her from shoulders to thighs.

Kiba and I stood opposite Tsunade. "Ayano, this is Kakashi, Iruka and Kurenai. They both volunteered their services in what we're planning."

"What exactly are we planning?" Kiba asked. "This is between Ayano and you guys. Should I be here?" His dog whimpered a bit beside him.

"Kiba, we need to create an army," Tsunade answered, straight to the point. "In Chuunin-level and above, I think we have enough to help you out. It's not a traditional army, by any means, but it's what we can do right now."

"Okay, wait, stop," Kiba held his hands up and closed his eyes. "What exactly do we need an army for?"

"I told you last night," I said. "Republic City is under attack. I was sent here to get help from your village."

"I'm really confused. Why is Republic City being attacked?"

"Because the Equalists-" Kurenai started, but I cut her off.

"Kiba, do you know what bending is? Controlling of the elements?"

He nodded. "Yeah, there's water bending, and earth bending, and..," he shook his head, to get to the point. "So?" he asked.

"A long time ago, Republic City was a place where benders from all four nations could live in peace. I don't know when, but some time, years ago, before I was born, a group that call themselves the Equalists rose up. They believe that benders are suppressing non-benders, and they want to strike back, at all costs."

"Why haven't I heard of any of this? Why didn't I learn this in my teachings?" His eyes darted back and forth between Kurenai and Tsunade, the two almost directly responsible for his education. They both looked away.

"Kiba, there's a man that leads the Equalists, named Amon," I interrupted. "He wants to rid benders of their bending – he wants to take their bending away. We don't know how he does it, but we do know that he can. And we know that he needs to be stopped. I was sent to get Konoha's help before my city falls, and he moves on to the rest of the world."

Kiba stared at me and then looked at the floor. "Who's 'we'?" he asked.

"Ayano knows the Avatar," Tsunade answered for me, bringing the meeting back.

He looked at me. "You know the Avatar?"

I shrugged. "I met her when she came to the city to learn airbending."

He shook his head now. "Am I caught up now?"

"Not quite," Tsunade said. "So, you know we need an army.. of sorts. The reason I called both of you here is because Kiba, you are going to be a part of that army. Along with your fellow chunin-level ninjas."

I stopped to gauge Kiba's reaction. He looked.. Almost calm, like nothing had happened. "Alright," he said. "When do we leave?" I almost gaped. He was just.. Okay with going into war. I couldn't fathom it. It breaks my heart when Bolin falls into the water during a Probending match.

"As soon as possible," Kakashi answered, stepping forward. "We just need to gather the fellows."

"Do you need my help for that?" I asked.

"No, but we should travel to Republic City together," Tsunade said. "You'll need to stay until we can put a team together."

I shifted in my shoes, holding back a groan of exasperation. "Alright."

Kiba led me out of the tower, and I expected him to leave once I reunited with Scout outside the tower, but I heard the gentle schff of his shoes on the ground when I knelt down to rub Scout's head. I turned to look at him. "You okay?" I asked.

He shrugged, not looking directly at me. "Do you want to go grab something to drink or something?"

I was about to say no, but then I felt a telltale smile creep across my face. "Somewhere they let dogs in, please."

**Kiba**

I took Ayano to Naruto's and my favorite ramen place – a small stand that sets up on the outskirts of town, where the noodles are hand-rolled and the broth is brewed all morning, until right before opening – because she seemed nervous and rattled at the meeting with Tsunade. We slid into our seats and she immediately ordered my favorite kind of ramen – beef flavoured.

"Are you not okay with staying here?" I asked her as she stirred her broth absentmindedly.

She shrugged. "I'm worried about what's going on back at the city," she mumbled. "When I left, Tenzin and his entire family were running from the Equalists, and Korra, Mako, Bolin and Asami had gone into hiding." I wondered if she knew that I had no idea who most of those people were. I decided to just let her talk. "They probably think I deserted them," she grumbled, dropping her head into her hands. "The city's probably lost hope in Korra." Her voice was muffled. "The world's probably going to lose hope in Korra."

I blinked, pausing for a second. "Look.. Just because she's in hiding now doesn't mean she's going to give up on anyone. By the time we get to Republic City, she'll probably be up and fighting like you never left."

"I hope she won't be losing," she mumbled under her breath.


	3. Chapter 3

Hello readers! Welcome to chapter three! Sorry about the confusion with the points of view in the last couple of chapters. I tried to fix it by deleting the entire story and re-uploading it with the names included whenever the point of view switches. If it's still confusing, please tell me and I'll try something different. Thanks for sticking with me through three whole chapters! Enjoy~

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**-Ayano-**

After what seemed like forever (but what was really about a day), Tsunade had an army put together. Kurenai and Kakashi were in the office the day before to offer their services, and to offer their teams if possible. Iruka was there to offer his services as well, and a word out to his previous students. We were set to leave as soon as possible, much to Tsunade's dismay.

"It didn't take me that long to get here," I piped up in Tsunade's office after the announcement to assemble an army took place. Kiba had rightfully dubbed the office "The War Zone," because it's where we all met to discuss Konoha's army, and plan. "Could we all walk there?"

"That seems very..," Kakashi started, rubbing his chin. "Lord-of-the-Rings-esque. A whole army walking across thousands of miles to get to a battle point." I had come to learn that Kakashi was a big book nerd, and even though he read mostly porn, he also had a few classics under his belt.

"Do you have any other ideas?" I asked him.

"No, I like it. Just commenting," his eye curved a bit, like he was smiling beneath his mask.

"I'm not sure I like the idea of a rag-tag group of former students and, well, kids that we've dubbed 'an army' walking to Republic City, tiring themselves out, and then fighting as soon as we get there," Tsunade said, spreading her hands across a map that was laid out on her desk.

"We could sail," Iruka said, leaning over the same map and tracing a line from Konoha to the City. "It seems like that would take us a day."

I perked up at the mention of less time. "Only a day?" I asked hopefully.

Kurenai scratched her forehead, knitting her eyebrows together in thought. "I've got it," she said, looking up at me. "Where were Korra and the rest of them when you left?"

"Hiding out underground, with a group of homeless people," I said. I got weird looks from Iruka and Kakashi. "What?.." I mumbled.

Kurenai's tone commanded their attention. "A smaller, elite group could _fly_ in, with Ayano, and meet up with Korra before the boats get there with the rest of the army. While they're waiting for the boats, the Avatar and the elites can plan an attack."

"How long would flying take?" I asked before anyone else could comment.

"Flying would be faster than going by boat," Iruka said with a glance at the map.

"I think we should do that," I said.

Kurenai looked at Tsunade for approval, who was staring at the map with her brow knitted together. "That's doable," she said, and my heart soared. I resisted the urge to cheer.

I barely heard the rest of the meeting – something about the number of former students who were going to go, and assurances (directed towards me) of how well-trained they were – because all I wanted to do was find some way to tell Bolin and Mako and Korra and Asami that there was _finally_ a plan.

**-Kiba**-

Okay, so I liked Ayano and all, and I was looking forward to helping her protect her city and the rest of the world from these "Equalists," but just because we happened to smack into each other in the pouring rain that first night doesn't mean that she needed me to escort her _everywhere she went._ I grumbled as I walked to answer the door after something like the _fifteenth_ person knocked on it in two days. Okay, so maybe I was exaggerating, but a lot of people had been a-knockin' since I oh-so-graciously brought Ayano to Tsunade.

I was a little taken aback when Ayano herself was knocking on my door. I opened it, and barely had a chance to say hello before she launched a question at me. "Do you send messenger hawks from Konoha?" she asked, waltzing right in to my house, a smile on her face.

I stared at her as she retreated toward the kitchen. What the hell? "Uh, how did you find out where I live?" I asked her, following her light footsteps.

"Some pink-haired girl who hangs around Tsunade's office a lot told me," she answered, taking a seat at the kitchen table.

I cocked my head a little to the side and let out a breath of air. Somehow, even though Ayano and I hadn't known each other that long, I couldn't bring myself to be surprised that she acted this way when she was happy. So, instead of trying to figure it out, I went to the fridge. "Sakura Haruno's her name. She's Tsunade's apprentice. I'm surprised you haven't met her yet, seeing as how you've spent seventy hours in her office out of the seventy-two hours you've been in Konoha. Do you want something to drink?"

"I want to know about the messenger hawks," she said, and I noticed an impatient tapping of her foot.

I set a glass of water in front of her. "Yeah, if you want to send something overseas, there's a place you can do it that way. It's kind of an old form of mailing, though." I sat across from her at the tiny kitchen table.

"It's the only way I can think of that is the least likely to get noticed by Amon," she said.

"What do you want to send?"

"I need to tell my friends that we're coming by air and meeting up with them as soon as we land."

"We're coming by air?"

"At the war meeting, we decided that a small group of elites is going in by air to meet up with Korra and make a game plan while we wait for the _rest_ of the army, which is coming in by boat. By the time the boat army comes in, we should have a plan ready, and we can meet them and then we can take down Amon." She sounded ecstatic.

"You sound very pleased," I said with a tiny smile.

"I am," she said, twirling her finger around the rim of the glass.

"You know..," I started, absentmindedly scratching at the table top. "There're worse places in the world than Konoha."

She raised her head with a concerned expression. "What do you mean?"

"You seem like you really want to get out of here."

"Oh," she said. She shrugged. "I guess Konoha would be a nice place to visit every once in a while, and it wouldn't be so bad if I was coming to see it with a.. I don't know, with a different intention."

"You mean if you didn't come looking for help for your city?"

"Yeah," she paused. "I just want to get out as fast as I can and help my friends. The last thing the world needs is for the Avatar to lose her bending in the midst of the first major war since the Fire Nation rose up."

"Yeah, I'm still mad that no one told us about this in school," I said, furrowing my brow. "When they report to everyone they got to help that we're going to help Republic City to stop the Equalists, no one's going to know what we're talking about."

"Maybe they didn't know about the Equalists," she said. Suddenly, she was on her feet, looking at me expectantly. "Take me to the messenger hawks," she urged, like I was stupid or something.

I sighed and reluctantly got to my feet. "Fine, fine," I mumbled, trudging to the door with her popping beside me like a toddler I was forced to babysit on our way to the amusement park.

"Stop dragging your feet, we have to hurry!" she chastised as I pulled my shoes on, on our way out the door.

"Yeah, because you didn't wake me up or anything..," I grumbled to myself.

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing."

Yeah, a life-long friendship was starting here. Eyeroll.

-**Ayano**-

_Bolin, Mako, Korra, Asami, _

_ I have to be brief. I've made it to Konoha and a plan is set in place – I'm flying back to Republic City tomorrow with a small group of elite students and we're going to make a plan with you while we wait for the rest of the army Konoha has assembled to arrive by boat. Be thinking of a plan._

_ Ayano_

Kiba slid the money onto the table and I handed the man the rolled-up note to tie to the hawk's leg. "Thanks, I'll pay you back," I assured him.

"It's no problem," he said, letting his hands fall into his pockets. He turned to watch his dog, Akamaru, and Scout run around in circles in a field across from the store. I lingered by the counter until the man set the hawk to flight out a side window. "Do you know when we're leaving?" Kiba asked once we were outside the shop.

I headed toward the field Akamaru and Scout were playing in. "Tomorrow, hopefully."

Kiba bent to toss a stick the dogs' way, which they immediately began fighting over.

"Do you do missions a lot?" I asked him, taking a seat in the grass.

"Yeah. Ever since the Chuunin exams, we've been sent on a lot of random-ass missions."

"Have you ever done any like this?"

He shook his head. "Not really."

I stared at the ground and pulled at a few pieces of grass. A few minutes of silence passed between Kiba and me, where the only sound was Akamaru and Scout playing. I had lost the initial happiness I felt to be going back to Republic City upon the realization that I would be almost immediately plunged into an all-out war: Benders vs. Equalists. Kiba seemed to have lost his fun sarcasm, possibly for the same reason.

I decided to break the silence. "Hey, Kiba?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for hanging out with me so much while I've been staying here."

"No problem."


End file.
